Dyed in Black
by Shirasu
Summary: 'Stay away from Black.' It was something all parents drilled into their children since young. Because Black devours and consumes everything in their wake, leaving nothing but a deep, dark abyss. And who would want their Color to be consumed by Black? AoKuro/KiKuro /AU
1. 00: Pink

**00. **

* * *

><p>Each 'Color' had its own job to fulfill.<p>

Yellow were in charge of giving color to the sun and blue was in charge of the sky. Green were in charge of dyeing the leaves and the trees in their color while Red burned everything in their wake a fiery red. Purple shared the job with Pink and together, they filled the world in a romantic shade.

And Black, Black consumed everything that it touched and drew it into a deep, dark abyss.

_Stay away from Black_.

That's what all children were told by their parents since young.

_Don't go near Black._

_Don't talk to Black._

_Don't even look at Black. _

And most of all, _Never ever touch Black._

Even in school, Black were separated from all the other children, like Colorless.

Colorless was another rare case as a Color. The story of how someone can turn Colorless was debated and there were various theories that surrounded these Colorless people. They were similar, yet the complete opposite of Black. Black devoured and consumed everything, leaving nothing but an abyss of Black. Colorless consumed the color of what they came in contact with, taking in and absorbing the colors as its own.

Other Colors didn't like to associate themselves with Colorless. Why would they? Who would want their own color to be stolen away? Their own colors that they are so proud of.

Momoi Satsuki sure wouldn't.

Momoi was Pink, one of the brightest and prettiest Pink in school. All the flowers in the schoolyard were dyed in her pink, something that she was very, very proud of. Visitors would come and praise the flowers 'Oh my, what a beautiful pink they are!' and Momoi would be smug when she told them that she was the one who dyed the flowers.

Momoi had a friend, a childhood friend of hers that she treasured deeply. He used to be the most beautiful Blue and had the brightest smile and personality. He was even rumored to be the next 'Sky Blue' candidate. _The_ 'Sky Blue'! Each year, the most vibrant Blue would be given the honors to dye the sky in their color, to be the 'Sky Blue' and Momoi's childhood best friend, Aomine Daiki, used to be the most promising 'Sky Blue'-to-be.

Keyword being, used to be.

Because one day, Aomine came back different. His brilliant blue hair was now a dirty navy, his eyes dimmed so dark it was almost black; even his skin was ten shades darker than it used to be.

And everyone knew then, with only one look at Aomine, that it's because Aomine befriended a Black.

Momoi had known this for a while. She had seen how Aomine would sneak out from the classroom occasionally and had made stupid excuses for not eating with her or not walking her home. She had followed him and had seen him with a boy. A boy with hair as dark as the night sky and eyes blacker than darkness but with an impossibly gentle smile on his face. She had seen how Aomine had laughed with him, how Aomine grinned and smiled in a way that Momoi had never seen the Blue boy smile.

She had seen the worry in the Black boy's face, and the sadness in his voice as the Black boy told Aomine that they shouldn't meet again. She had seen the tears in Aomine's eyes.

She watched as Aomine threw another one of his infamous tantrums, shouting and yelling at the emotionless Black.

She saw, in all the rash and reckless attitude that was so befitting of her childhood friend as Aomine gripped onto the collar of the pitch black shirt that the Black boy was wearing and watched fearfully as Aomine leaned forward and kissed the boy.

She noticed the fear and the struggle that the boy was putting up, flailing his hands and trying to push Aomine away but wary of touching Aomine.

She watched as the black tears seeped from the corner of his eyes and rolled down his face, dripping onto the floor and leaving blots of black on the floor.

Eventually Aomine released him and took a step back. He laughed arrogantly as he looked down at his now tanned skin and raised a hand to comb through his navy locks. The smirk on his face told Momoi that Aomine didn't regret it.

She watched as Aomine left, his back turned against the crying boy on his knees.

He was crying, his shoulders slumped, his arms hanging by his side. His eyes were lifeless as he stared at the retreating back of Aomine Daiki. It was all his fault.

Momoi watched as the boy buried his face in his pale hands, colorless tears streaming down his face and disappearing behind the black sleeves. She watched as the last of the color disappeared from his hair, and he was left colorless, contrasting to the clothes he wore.

Momoi stood up and turned to leave, to try and find her childhood friend so she could reprimand him before anyone else saw him. But then, from the corner of her eyes, she saw them.

She saw the most beautiful cerulean eyes she had ever seen.

Momoi turned around and she watched, she watched as the boy now stared at her, having noticed her presence. And he was staring at her with those beautiful, vibrant eyes. And he saw her eyes widen. And he reached his hand up and tug on a few strands of his hair.

And she noticed, she noticed that he wasn't Colorless.

It was pale, diluted, so pastel, so light that it was almost nonexistent.

But it was, and he was, undoubtedly, blue. A light, pale shade of powder blue.

And then he turned to her, and through his tears, he smiled. He smiled brilliantly.

_Stay away from Black._

Momoi ran.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **This was inspired by a oneshot by Takagi Shigeyoshi/Ogawa Chise called 'Irotoridori no Sekai'.

**THIS IS NOT THE END. **(I think. If anything this is only a prologue.)

By the way, I had the picture saved on my laptop for a while but I can't, for the life of me, seem to find the original source of the cover art. If anyone happen to know where it came from or who drew it, please let me know so I can put the correct credit because it's not mine!

Cheers.


	2. 01: Black

**01.**

* * *

><p>He was a laughing stock, a joke.<p>

A Black that wasn't Black.

How much of a failure did he have to be that he couldn't even be what he was born to be?

Till this day, he could still remember the warmth against his lips and the tingling feeling in his chest as he was 'purified', the moment when he stopped being a monster and became something else completely.

What color was he now?

He was still Black. Everything he touched would still be tainted by him and turn into a dark wisp of smoke.

But he didn't fit in anymore.

The black hair and black eyes that the other Black children always praised him for - that they always admired - were gone. They used to call him 'Shadow', because of how dark his Black was. It was like the abyss, a never ending darkness that sucked you deeper and deeper.

Now? Now it was replaced by a comical pale blue that was neither here nor there. Now his eyes were no longer an alluring obsidian but a vibrant cerulean blue. All because of the kiss from Aomine Daiki.

For a moment, during that kiss, he was Colorless. And in return for purifying his Blackness, Aomine Daiki was tainted. Aomine's brilliant blue was dirtied by his Black.

_"I'll dye you in my color, Tetsu. I'll never let you go."_

The rash and reckless words were accompanied by a piercing pain as Aomine bit Kuroko's lips. And then Kuroko was released and he fell to the floor, staring in fear, in guilt at Aomine's retreating back. Aomine's beautiful skin was now a dirty tan, his hair a dark navy blue and his eyes, those beautiful bright blue eyes that Kuroko loved staring into was now an ugly, disgusting midnight blue. And it was all because of him.

They shouldn't have been friends in the first place, the brightest of Blues and the darkest of Blacks. It was a nasty combination and Kuroko knew it.

But he was weak.

Because the cheerful smile and sparkling eyes made warmth spread through Kuroko's chest.

Because, finally, there was someone who didn't run away from him, there was someone who was willing to talk to him.

And Kuroko wanted that. Kuroko needed that.

A friend.

Because no one ever wanted to be Kuroko's friend, not even the other Blacks. Even Black has plenty of shades - some of them leaned slightly more to blue, others leaned more to red; those were the most usual ones. Occasionally, one or two of them would lean towards purple, yellow or maybe green.

Kuroko was different. Kuroko was pure Black, the purest of the pure. And he posed a threat not only to other colors, but even to other Blacks. When you're as dark as Kuroko, there weren't many things for you to spread your color into because the only thing that was pitch black was darkness itself. Therefore, with no external outlet, Kuroko's black just gets more and more concentrated.

Concentrated enough, that if another Black got close enough, the tiny bit of colored shade that they possessed would be consumed by Kuroko.

Kuroko had only known one person who had been as dark a Black as him. The person had been Kuroko's senpai, Nijimura Shuuzou. But even he was different from Kuroko. Nijimura was born Colorless, something almost as rare as being born pure black like Kuroko. His detailed story, however, was one for another time. In short, Nijimura wanted a color, but any color that he absorbed faded in time so Nijimura set off to gain all the colors in the world but the moment he succeeded, he turned Black, into the darkest, deepest Black anyone had seen for a long time. Because when you combine all the colors in the world, you get nothing but pitch black darkness.

Nijimura had been the one person who dared approach Kuroko and the two got on well before Nijimura graduated.

And then Kuroko was left alone, again.

Or he was, until a certain Blue had barged into Kuroko's world, uninvited.

Kuroko had been sitting in a secret corner in the school. It wasn't exactly secret, per se, but it was secluded and almost no one ever went there so it was secret enough. Kuroko liked to sit there in silence, reading.

And it was while Kuroko was reading that _he_ had appeared, dashing around the corner and startling Kuroko from his book.

_"God, what an annoying teacher…"_ Kuroko stared at the boy who had his back to him with a head full of bright, vibrant blue hair.

Seeing that his secret corner was invaded, Kuroko stood up and dusted himself, ready to go, but the Blue boy's huge physique was blocking the only entrance and exit.

_"Excuse me."_

_"What the-! There's someone here?"_

It was then when the boy turned around and stared at Kuroko with those beautiful blue eyes. His eyes widened when he saw Kuroko, who had half expected him to yell and run away at that point like everyone else. But he didn't.

_"Wow, you're Black."_ Kuroko merely stared at the boy in return. _"No wait, I mean, of course you are. Sorry, it's just…I've never met a Black before and I've met quite a lot of Colors, even rare ones. My childhood friend, she's Pink and that's pretty rare, but boy is she annoying."_

Kuroko continued to stare, and the silence between them was suffocating.

Eventually the boy reached out his hand and introduced himself as Aomine Daiki.

_"Let's be friends."_

The silence had returned between the two of them. Kuroko stared up at the cheerful male.

_Aomine Daiki._

This was a guy with a 'Colored-name', a 'Miracle' nonetheless.

Even amongst Colors, there was a ranking in terms of purity. Only the purest and most vibrant families of a Color could possess a 'Colored-name' wherein part of their surname contained their corresponding color.

On top of that, even amongst the 'Colored-names', there was a special rank called the 'Miracles' which consisted of only the purest and most ancient families of the colors of the rainbow. The current generation of the 'Miracles' was famous in their school. Akashi Seijuurou for Red, Daidaimori Senri* for Orange, Kise Ryouta for Yellow, Midorima Shintarou for Green, Aomine Daiki for Blue, Aiba Haruka* for Indigo and Murasakibara Atsushi for Violet.

And in front of Kuroko stood _the_ Aomine Daiki. And he stood there, his hand still outstretched and the grin still on his face.

_"You know, when someone offers you a hand, you're supposed to shake it."_

Kuroko had looked between Aomine and the hand he offered. _"I'm Black."_

_"Yeah so?"_ Aomine didn't seem to get it. _"It's not like you don't have hands."_

Kuroko couldn't help but smile helplessly at Aomine's words, shaking his head in the process. _"I can't touch you and you can't touch me. Because if you do…"_ Kuroko looked away. He reached out and plucked a flower from the bush next to him. Before he could even bring it up to show Aomine, the flower disappeared into a wisp of black smoke. _"…that happens."_

_"Yeah, but that's a flower. I'm a Color. You know, I happen to be the best Blue of our generation! You're looking at the next 'Sky Blue'! I'm not just going to turn into a wisp of smoke."_

Kuroko inclined his head but made no move to accept Aomine's handshake.

_"Fine, fine. Whatever man. At least you can tell me your name, right? Telling me your name isn't going to make me disappear, is it?"_

And then Kuroko laughed, albeit softly, melodically and it brought a smile on Aomine's face. _"Kuroko. Kuroko Tetsuya."_

Since then, occasionally, when Kuroko was sitting there, in that secluded corner, Aomine would come to find him. Most of the time, they'd just sit there and talk; Kuroko listening to Aomine as the latter ranted about pretty much everything. Sometime they'd sit in silence and sometimes they'd eat lunch. And every time, Aomine would leave with a smile on his face.

_"I'll see you here again next time, yeah? Tetsu?"_

And Kuroko will nod and smile softly, ignoring the knot in his stomach and the guilt in his chest.

Eventually Kuroko did tell Aomine that they should stop meeting. And the aftermath of that sentence was what often haunted his dreams and nagged his thoughts.

_"Is this some kind of sick joke, Tetsu?"_

_"Aomine-kun, please let me go. Stop, you can't touch me! You'll get tainted!"_

_"Fuck that! I'll dye you in my color, Tetsu. I'll never let you go."_

And this was when Kuroko's eyes would flutter open and he would realize that it was just a dream, again.

_"See, Tetsu, now you're Blue too."_

And then Kuroko would sigh and comb a hand through his pale blue locks, and wonder why something from two years ago still haunted him till today.

xxx

Every morning, before the sun rose, Kuroko would go for a jog along the river bank. It was a short jog, two kilometers to a nearby 24-hour cafe where he would stop for a drink and then two kilometers back home just in time to watch the sunrise.

Today was no different.

With his black hood up and earphones stuffed in both his ears, Kuroko went for his usual jog along the river bank which was empty of people at this hour. Naturally, because no one went for a jog at four thirty am in the morning, except Kuroko. And that was also the reason why Kuroko chose that particular hour to do his morning jog. Because then there would not be any people pointing at him and he wouldn't have to go the extra mile to ignore and pretend that he was oblivious to the people whispering behind his back or the shuffle of footsteps to get away from him; because there was no one at all.

Thirty minutes later, Kuroko was sitting down at the 24-hour cafe with his mug of vanilla milkshake in front of him. He sat at the corner seat by the window, just like he did every morning. He leaned back, relaxing against the cushioned seats.

The bells that hung on the door chimed softly as the door was opened.

Kuroko turned to watch as a blond haired male walked into the cafe. It was unusual, because the only customer that visited this cafe at this hour in the morning was Kuroko, and it had been so for the past two years since he moved to this neighborhood.

"Caramel Macchiato, skim milk, please."

The customer took a seat the coffee bar and Kuroko watched as the man slumped against the table, resting his chin on his arms. Slipping his gloves back on, Kuroko stood up from his corner and picked up the empty mug of vanilla milkshake. Coming to a stand a few seats away from the slumped Yellow, Kuroko placed the empty mug on the table.

"Tenchou*, I'll leave the mug here."

"Yeah, sure, Tetsuya, just leave it there. I'll see you tomorrow," the shop-owner, an old man that treated Kuroko kindly despite his Color, replied with a smile. "Here you go, caramel macchiato, skim milk. That's two hundred and fifty yen."

It was then that the Yellow turned his face and noticed, for the first time, that he was not the only customer in the small cafe. His gaze fell upon the black hoodie and the black pants, complete with black sneakers. A Black.

"Ahem, mister, that would be two hundred and seventy-five yen with tax."

Kuroko watched with a raised eyebrow as the Yellow finally tore his gaze away from Kuroko, and then began searching his pockets for what Kuroko would assume to be his wallet. With a final wave at the shop-owner, Kuroko turned to leave the cafe.

"No! Wait! I promise I have my wallet with me! I have money! No! Wait! Wait!" From behind him, Kuroko heard the frantic voice. "Oh no! I must have left it at my friend's place just now! Give me five minutes! I'll be back with the money! I promise! No, really! I promise!"

Kuroko was halfway out of the shop by then and was really tempted to just keep going and jog back home. But the frantic voice behind him tugged at Kuroko's heartstrings and…was that man about to cry? With a sigh, Kuroko closed the door and turned to walk back into the shop.

"I'll pay for him, tenchou," Kuroko said softly, handing the two hundred and seventy-five yen in exact amount over the table counter.

"Tetsuya! You can't just do that," the shop-owner frowned, shaking his head. "I know you're very kind and all, but that's no reason to…"

"It's fine, tenchou, I'll pay for him," Kuroko said, "We were sort of classmates back in middle school." Sort of being the major keyword here, because everyone knew that it was impossible since Kuroko was Black. The incredulous look that the Yellow was giving Kuroko didn't help.

"Well if you insist, Tetsuya," the shop-owner sighed and nodded, taking the money and turning to glare at the Yellow instead.

Kuroko turned to leave the cafe again.

"Hey! Wait! Wait! Take out! I want the coffee take out please! Wait!"

With his earphones back in place, Kuroko was about to take off jogging back home. And then a mass of yellow blocked his path.

"I said wait!" Kuroko didn't look up. "I, I thank you for your generosity, really, but I'm afraid I can't just accept it like this. Especially if you have to lie to the shop-owner!"

"I wasn't lying," Kuroko interrupted, "I didn't lie. I said we were sort of classmates and the 'sort of' made it much more general. Even if we weren't classmates, we were in the same grade, so it's fine. I know who you are, at the very least. You're Kise Ryouta of the Generation of Miracles. Can I go now?"

The Yellow, Kise Ryouta, blinked in confusion as he stared at the petite Black in front of him. And then he noticed something weird. Kise frowned and leaned forward slightly, peeking under the hood that covered half of the Black's face. No, there was no mistaking it. It stood out too much. "You-"

Kuroko turned to look away as he felt Kise's unwelcomed gaze, avoiding the piercing yellow eyes as he pulled his hood further over his face. Shying away from Kise's outstretched hand, Kuroko took a step back with a scowl on his face. "Leav-"

"You're Blue!"

"What?"

"If you're Blue then you should stop wearing clothes like this," Kise looked down at Kuroko's clothings with distaste, "it's so easy for other people to misunderstand-"

"I'm Black," Kuroko stared at Kise. "I'm Black. You should stay away."

"If you want to drive me away, you'll have to do better than that," Kise grinned in return, his hand still reaching for Kuroko's hood, "Your hair and your eyes-"

"Don't touch me, please," Kuroko said, taking another step backwards. Navy hair and tanned skin flashed across his vision and Kuroko stepped further backwards. "I should go."

"Wait!"

But Kuroko didn't stop. He ran all the way home.

xxx

Once back in his 1-LDK*, Kuroko took off the black hoodie, dumped it on his bed and confronted his reflection in the mirror. His reflection, that was a disgrace to all Blacks in the world. The familiar stranger stared back at him, with a melancholic look in his periwinkle blue eyes and messy sleet blue hair that framed his small face.

He had to be the only Black in the world that looked like a Blue.

Wait a moment.

_Periwinkle blue? Sleet blue?_

No. No. No. No.

Kuroko leaned against the mirror, squinting at his reflection. He flipped the lights on, and then flipped them off and flipped them back on again, but it did nothing to change the color tone of his reflection.

No. No. No.

His eyes were no longer cerulean and his hair was no longer the powder blue that Aomine gave him. It was fading.

Kuroko's hand clenched into fists against the mirror, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Just when he was coming in terms with his black hair and obsidian eyes, they were gone, replaced by a guilty powder blue and heart-aching cerulean; and just when he began treasuring the blue as well, it too began to disappear.

Kuroko stared up at his reflection once more, tears in his eyes.

He was turning back into Colorless.

* * *

><p>*Daidaimori Senri (橙森 千里) and Aiba Haruka (藍葉 遥) are names I made up to fill up the rainbow since there're no Canon characters that corresponds to orange and indigo. They probably won't play much of a part in the story except maybe being mentioned here and there once in a while (?).<p>

*Tenchou: Shop-owner, shop-keeper. Literally, head-of-shop.

*1-LDK: A category of apartment: (1) bedroom, (L) iving room, (D)ining room and (K)itchen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

My laptop got sent into repair and the technician told me it'd be at least two weeks before I get it back. I'm uploading from my phone right now and it's so horribly annoying. So...yes, I probably won't be updating until I get my laptop back because I really hate typing on my phone. I had the majority of this chapter types up to begin with so I only had to finish up the last part and that was barely bearable.

On another note, I explained the story to a friend of mine and his immediate reaction was "lol so is this a metaphor for racism or something" regarding the thing about 'colors' and whatnot. It wasn't my intention at all but according to my friend it gIves off that sort of vibe especially because of the way some sentences are expressed and/or constructed. Interpret the story as you will but I didn't write the story with that sort of ideas in mind so if you do make comparisons in that way and come across something that may make you uncomfortable in the other context, that is definitely not my intention.

Cheers.


	3. 02: Yellow

**02.**

* * *

><p>Reaching into the externally attached mailbox, Kise fished around for the keys he dumped in there about an hour ago.<p>

"Aha!"

Smiling to himself, Kise let himself into an apartment that was not his. The owner of the apartment was still snoring from the living room, presumably in the same position on the couch Kise left him. Kise confirmed it when he stepped into the living room to pick up the wallet that he left on the coffee table. He rolled his eyes at the tan skinned male on the couch.

"Aominecchi, you should go back to your room to you'll catch a cold like this and Momoicchi will kill me," Kise grimaced as he reached out a hand to shake Aomine's shoulders. "Aominecchi..."

Aomine Daiki merely groaned and turned around so that he was back facing the blonde. Kise sighed as he stood up again, running a hand through his hair. The two of them had been friends since middle school so this wasn't the first time he had to deal with Aomine like this.

He wasn't always like this though, Aomine. Kise remembered a time when he was a refreshing sort of guy, with a bright smile and vibrant Blues. And then _that_ happened and everything just took a 180 turn for Aomine; which apparently Aomine didn't care for. But no matter how much Kise asked for details, Aomine would not give them. Though whenever anyone bad mouthed the Black that was involved, Aomine would lash out and go berserk. So it became a taboo.

"...tsu...te...tsu..."

Tetsu.

That was all Kise knew about the Black that Aomine had befriended. Kise tried asking about it once, but all he got in return was a glare, a grunt and a face that stunk like rotten eggs. Kise never bothered asking again.

And then Kise's thoughts turned abruptly towards the boy at the cafe that morning. He had never been rejected that strongly in his entire life. Not to mention Kise had never seen such a beautiful blue on a person before. It wasn't bright or vibrant. It was so faded and so pale that there was something that was decidedly melancholic about the color. Kise owed that boy a cup of coffee too. What did the shop-owner say his name was again?

"Tetsuya...?" Or something like that.

There was the sound of rustling and then Kise felt a hand on his right arm all of a sudden. Turning to look to his right, he saw Aomine sitting up and looking at him with a gaze that looked out of place on Aomine's face. It was intense and strong but at the same time lost and out of focus.

"Aominecchi?"

The blunet blinked slightly and the clouded look in his eyes was gone, replaced by the usual lazy indifference. "Oh what the hell, it's just you, Kise." Aomine sunk back into the couch.

"If you woke up already at least go back to your room to sleep!" Kise rolled his eyes, "and what do you mean 'it's just me'? I carried your sorry ass back last night."

"I just thought...its nothing," Aomine shrugged. "Oh yeah, thanks. But even if you say so, it was Akashi's men that brought us back. As if your scrawny arms could carry me all the way."

Kise's eyes widened as he stared down at the indifferent blunet. "Aominecchi, you were awake? You were awake and you made me carry you?!"

"Only after we got off the helicopter," Aomine didn't sound the least bit apologetic, "and you were willing to carry me so why should I bother walking."

Kise wanted to argue back but knowing his friend, it was pointless. The blond shook his head and sighed.

"Oi Kise, I'm hungry. Cook something."

"Do I look like a maid to you?"

Aomine turned to give Kise a one look over, shrugging afterwards before picking up a porn magazine from the floor and flipping through it. "Satsuki always cooked, not that her food was ever edible. Where is she anyways?"

"How Momoicchi puts up with you, I will never know." Kise rolled his eyes but moved to the kitchen nonetheless. "Momoicchi has a competition today, competing for the honor of dyeing the flowers at the city hall garden. People really like her Pink, you know, she's getting quite popular."

"Whatever. And you? Shouldn't you be back in Kanagawa? What the hell are you doing in Tokyo?"

"I have a five day shoot in Tokyo so I'm spending the week here since school is out for summer," Kise said simply, "I'll be staying in Harajuku over at my manager's place."

"Is your manager hot?"

Kise did a double take and the tamagoyaki* that was cooking nearly fell out of the pan. "Aominecchi, my manager is a guy, in fact, he's Nijimura-senpai. You remember? The Nijimura-senpai back from the basketball club? You're not gay are you?" Kise expected a huge outburst from Aomine, shouting and yelling at him for even considering that he was not straight, but received none. Kise eyed the porn magazine in Aomine's hands, it was indeed filled with pictures of big breasted women but Aomine was silent. "Um, Aominecchi?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Kise turned his attention back to the tamagoyaki that was getting burned.

xxx

"Give me a smirk, Ryouta! Tilt more to the right! Bring your head backwards...eyes at the camera...! Perfect! I think we've got it. It's a wrap!" The director clapped with a smile. "Good work, Ryouta." The middle aged man said jovially as he patted the popular model on the back.

Kise smiled softly in reply, "thank you, Hasebe-san."

"Yeah, well, keep it up for the rest of the week. Ah! Kiyomoto-san, I want to talk to you about the assistant photographer that's supposed to come tomorrow," the director waved at Ryouta dismissively before walking towards the photographer, Kiyomoto, who was still behind the lens. "There's a bit of an issue about him that I want to clarify with you first…"

At this, Kise walked away, having no interest in the topic that they were discussing, to change out of the outfit that he was wearing. The photoshoot was for promotion and advertisements of the newest chain of clothing by one of the most famous fashion brands in Japan at the moment. The idea of the shoot was that it consisted of one face and one face only, and the very lucky model was none other than Kise Ryouta.

It wasn't exactly Kise's type of clothing, however. Kise preferred the more refreshing and cool styles while this was definitely more edgy, almost borderline punk. Keeping a straight face for an entire photoshoot was taxing.

"Kise Ryouta! Where were you last night? I called Akashi, he said you didn't stay over!" Kise winced at the voice that shouted at him. Daring a look under the t-shirt that he was in the process of taking off, he came face to face with his very angry manager, Nijimura Shuuzou, who was practically fuming through his ears. "I stayed up all night waiting for you!"

"Ah! Nijimura-buchou you stayed up all night?" Kise chirped, throwing the shirt off, "I didn't know you cared so much about me!"

A fist came down on Kise's head, followed by the gritting teeth of one very irritated manager. "Don't changing the subject! And stop calling me buchou! I stopped being your team captain three years ago."

"Nijimura-senpai then! -Ow…" Kise rubbed a hand around the bump that was forming on his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was at Aominecchi's place! He got drunk during the party, thinking that it was fruit punch. Momoicchi went home early so I had to bring Aominecchi back."

"You could have called! And no, senpai's not acceptable either! I'm stopped being your upperclassman too, three years ago."

"Nijimuracchi then? My phone ran out of battery…I was going to go back to your place first, in the morning," Kise said apologetically, "but then I forgot my wallet at Aominecchi's place the first time round. And then when I went to get it, Aominecchi made me make him breakfast and then…"

"Alright, stop! Enough. I get it. Just stick with senpai then." Nijimura sighed at the sight of the seventeen year old boy in front of him wearing what could only be described as a 'lost puppy' look. "By the way, Kise, how…strongly, are you…wary of Blacks?"

Kise cocked his head slightly, raising an eyebrow at his manager. "Nijimura-senpai, are you going through a period of low self-esteem?"

"No, no, that isn't what I meant," Nijimura grimaced. "I…I'm different. I mean someone who was born Black…like actually of the Black Color; the dangerous type."

Kise furrowed his eyebrows. "Nijimura-senpai, you're not born Black? I mean, I know you have your days but I just thought that was just your own quirk." He was honestly confused because Nijimura seemed like a Black through and through. His hair was Black, or at least a variant of it most of the time, his eyes were Black and he took the precautions that most Blacks would take: the gloves, the lack of body contact.

"That's not the point, Kise…" Nijimura sighed. "I guess it's no use trying to ask you that. Oh, whatever, you'll just have to see it tomorrow. I'm going to head out first, there's something I have to clear at the office. You're done for the day so I'm not going to babysit you. Just make sure you call if you're getting home late."

Kise's frown stayed on his face as his manager left the room.

By the time Kise got out of the studio, the sun had long gone to sleep through the lights that lit up the city made it seem otherwise. Kise didn't have much friends here, a few back from Teikou who didn't leave the city for high school, but no one he was comfortable to call to hang out on the spot.

Settling for a simple dinner, Kise took the train away from the lavish streets of Ginza down to Shibuya, a place where he was much more comfortable in, and went in search for the Monjayaki* store that Momoi had told him about before.

xxx

The next morning saw Kise awake long before sunrise. Before he left for the photoshoot the day before, Kise had asked and double checked with the shop-owner at the cafe that the mysterious Blue visited the cafe daily at the certain time. The shop-owner confirmed it as five in the morning. As a precaution, Kise arrived there at four thirty in the morning.

The old man behind the counter recognized him and grunted as Kise sat down by the bar table. The Yellow grinned, "I brought my wallet today, tenchou." He waved the wallet in the air, at which the shop-owner grunted again before allowing him to take his order.

Caramel Macchiato, skim milk.

Sipping the piping hot coffee in his hands, Kise wondered how the scene was going to play out. He imagined, the doors will open at the Blue will walk into the coffee shop. Then his eyes would widen comically as he sees Kise sitting by the bar table at which Kise would gracefully turn with a smile on his face and nod.

The bells on the door chimed.

And then the Blue would sit down next to Kise who would buy him a drink in return for the favor yesterday. And they would talk and the Blue would apologize for rejecting Kise yesterday and being rude because he was simply overwhelmed by meeting Kise in person. Yes, that did sound rather probable.

"Tenchou, the usual please."

Or maybe Kise would be on the way out of the door and the two would bump into each other. Kise would apologize, as would the other party until they took a proper look at each other at which they would both exclaim _"You!"_ and burst out laughing at the situation. Kise would then proceed to pay him the amount owed for the coffee the other day, which the Blue would then shake his head and refuse. The former would insist on paying back until eventually, the latter would relent and allow Kise to buy him a drink.

And then perhaps Kise would sit down with him and the two will talk when Kise finds out that he actually did knew the Blue back from Teikou and while they weren't in the same class, they often passed each other in the corridors. Or even better, maybe they were actually in the same sports club, Basketball that was, and perhaps they had actually played together in the internal matches. Then Kise would gleefully ask to play in the nearby courts and the Blue would agree. Only that when they get to the court, Kise realized that it was time for him to go to work and he would have to cancel, but the two would make an agreement to meet again.

"Here you go, Tetsuya, vanilla milkshake to go."

And the Blue would have ordered a vanilla milkshake to go-wait what?

"Ahhh!" Kise yelled in surprise as he noticed the mass of black a spaces away from him. Once again, like the day before, Kise had somehow been unable to acknowledge the Blue's presence right next to him. Both the Blue and the shop-owner turned to look at Kise questioningly. "What? You're-I mean, I'll pay!...for his milkshake, um…as thanks for, uh, yesterday." Kise fumbled with his wallet that didn't want to leave his pockets.

"Please allow me to politely decline your offer," the Blue deadpanned, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Uh, no! I insist, it's only normal for me to pay you back for the money yesterday," Kise said as he finally pulled free his wallet from the safety chain.

"You really don't have to."

"Let me pay!"

"You don't have to pay."

"Let me-!"

"Tetsuya, just tell him that vanilla milkshakes are free for today's special already," the old man rolled his eyes from behind the counter. "Stop teasing the guy."

"I apologize," the Blue said. Kise couldn't really tell if he was sincere or not from the monotonous tone of his voice. "I just had to test out of myself if it really was as he said."

"Who said what?" Kise frowned in confusion.

"Ah- nothing," the Blue shook his head, "well then, if you'll excuse me." He took the cup of milkshake from the counter and turned to leave.

"Huh, you're not staying?" Kise asked. There went his entire plan to get to know the guy.

"I have made prior arrangements so I would not be staying today," the Blue nodded before moving towards the door.

"Hey, wait! At least let me pay you back in money-" Kise called out after the Blue.

Halfway through opening the glass doors, the Blue turned around with a small smile. "As that may be your intention, Kise-san, I doubt you will have the exact amount in your wallet right now and unfortunately, I do not have enough change for a thousand, nor do I accept cards. So if you will excuse me…"

The shop-owner snorted.

Kise was left speechless. Wanting to prove the blunet wrong, Kise flipped open his wallet to check the bills he had only to find that the Blue was right and his smallest bill was a thousand, though he did have seventy five yen in coins. The next thing that was in his wallet was his credit and debit cards.

Kise furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at his wallet.

How did he know?

xxx

"It's the first time I had to almost beg someone to let me pay their money back! Nijimura-senpai, isn't that just weird? Take Midorimacchi as an example, if I was even five minutes late in paying him back he'll start going on about morals, responsibilities and start adding in interests! And that's not all!" Kise flailed his arms around in an exaggerated motion, "somehow, I don't know how really, but he knows how much money I keep in my wallet, it's completely creepy!"

Nijimura sighed. The last thing he wanted to be was bombarded by Kise early in the morning. "We can worry about this creepy stranger later, Kise, whoever he is. You have a shoot in half an hour. You move like that some more and you'll wrinkle the clothes."

"Ah, right." Kise took a deep breath and calmed down, and then raised an eyebrow when Nijimura didn't leave. "What is it, senpai?"

"I just thought I should tell you that we have a new assistant photographer," Nijimura said, "he probably won't affect you anyway at all, really. But just thought you should know. He was also my underclassman back in Teikou, so please, don't embarrass me."

"You talk like I always embarrass you," Kise waved his hand casually, earning himself a nothing short of a glare from Nijimura. "Don't worry, I'm a professional."

"So you say now," Nijimura murmured under his breath. "Well, I'll leave you now. Be on the set in fifteen."

Throughout the photoshoot, Kise was fairly distracted. Though apparently the photographer, Kiyomoto, liked the dreamy look on Kise so he wasn't called out for it.

"Kise-san."

Most of the time Kise's attention wasn't even on the camera or the shoot, but either on the Blue stranger from the morning or the assistant photographer who's supposed to be Nijimura's underclassman.

"Kise-san."

Did that mean he was in Kise's year? Or the year below? Was it someone that Kise knew? Kise tried hard to find him in the large crew gathered around him, but he couldn't find anyone different amongst the usual faces.

"Oi! Kise! Till when are you going to stand there like a wooden log? Kuroko's been calling to you for the past minute!"

"Huh?" Kise blinked, turning to look at Nijimura who was yelling from the far side of the studio. "Kuroko who?"

"I'm Kuroko." The voice sounded familiar.

And very, very close.

"Uwaaaah!" Kise let out a yelp as he noticed the pale blue haired boy standing not two feet away from him. "When did you get-You! It's you! The creepy guy from the cafe!"

The Blue-Kuroko was it?- frowned at Kise's words. "That is a very rude thing to say, Kise-san. I am Kuroko Tetsuya, the assistant photographer. Kiyomoto-san is asking for you to move over there for a change of scenery." Kuroko pointed over to the big paneled windows on the other end of the studio.

Wait. Kuro? Black? But wasn't he Blue?

"Kise! Will you focus?" Nijimura's yelling was back, but this time, his manager was back in front of Kise with the black hair that couldn't decide if it wanted to be navy black or brown black in his face. It was kind of like an oscillation reaction, Nijimura's hair that was.

"Ah right, sorry," Kise blinked and turned to his side only to see that Kuroko had left and moved onto to work at the set by the paneled windows. "I was a little...distracted."

"For the entire shoot so far. So much for being professional," Nijimura hung his head, waving his hand dismissively. "And you promised not to embarrass me in front of Kuroko! Now he's going to laugh at me and…oi, Kise? Kise?"

But Kise wasn't listening to Nijimura anymore. His eyes were focused on the boy with pale blue hair on the other side of the studio who looked almost transparent under the light.

* * *

><p>*Tamagoyaki: Japanese style fried eggs<p>

*Monjayaki: Kantou-styled pan-fried batter whereas Kansai-style is called Okonomiyaki. Monja is much more watery and less cake-ish unlike the other.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

I finally, _finally_ got the chapter out. I got my laptop back yesterday and after spending about nine hours on PSO2 (Ultimate Quests and Level Cap raise aww yeahhh), finally sat down and typed up the rest of the chapter. I typed up about a thousand words or so when I went to a nearby net cafe earlier the week, not the most pleasant of net cafes might I add, so it was relatively easy for me to finish up the rest in a few hours. (I had taken a few notes and stuff on paper while my laptop was in repair on this chapter and some other things).

On the other hand, I really want some feedback on how I'm writing Kise. I actually am at a total loss on how to write Kise, since he's not one of the usual KrBs characters I write with. AoKuro and AkaKuro are my top ships so this is really my first time writing Kise as anything more than a side character. I hope I'm doing it fine? Is he coming off too childish or too annoying? I'd appreciate any comments on how to write Kise better! Or anyone else too, really. I worry a lot whether I keep them in character most of the time.

And thanks _terracannon876 _on your suggestion about the genre. You know what, you're right. The story came out slightly different from how I expected it to be, so the genres I chose were not exactly accurate. So I did change one of the categories to _Fantasy_, so hopefully it'll be more fitting now. Thanks!**  
><strong>

And on the last note, thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favorited and followed this story. I appreciate the support!

Cheers.


	4. 03: Blue

**03.**

* * *

><p>He pretty much barged into the cafe, pushing the door open wide and causing the chimes to ring out in a frenzy. The shop-owner sighed and shook his head from behind the counter. "I've told you many times, the chimes are delicate! Watch it!"<p>

"Right, right, okay, sure, sorry, whatever. If they were going to break, they would've broken ages ago," he shrugged. "Old man, I'll be taking the corner seat by the window again."

"At least try to be sincere, will you? I take it you'll be getting the usual?" The shop-owner turned and reached at the mini fridge behind him for the stash of canned soft drinks there that was exclusive to the one and only Aomine Daiki.

It had to be about three years ago, when the teen first barged into the cafe in a similar fashion like today. He had stared at the overhead menu with a deep frown on his eyebrows. "Don't you have something normal like coke?" Taken back, the shop-owner pointed out that they were a cafe, not a fast food chain; at which the dark haired teen shrugged and demanded coke anyways. Naturally, the shop-owner had nothing to serve so he gave Aomine a glass of water instead.

Aomine didn't complain.

Yet, the next time Aomine visited the cafe, he asked for coke.

Again, the shop-owner served him water.

And it continued a few times, until eventually the old man relented and kept a pack of coke in the store for whenever Aomine would come, which was now four times a week especially since he was on summer break. And everytime, he would ask for a glass of coke, which the shop-owner would serve reluctantly, and Aomine would sit by the corner next to the window until he drains his glass before going off.

Today however, Aomine didn't ask for his usual.

"Vanilla milkshake is free today?" Aomine raised his eyebrows at the special offer poster. Vanilla milkshake. Just the name of the drink brought half a smile to Aomine's face and a dull throbbing in his chest. If only _he_ knew that there was a cafe that sold that stuff for free.

"That is the special offer, yes," the shop-owner replied.

"I'll have one, uh, just small," and then Aomine snorted to himself, as if laughing at an inside joke that only he would get. Aomine didn't catch the look that the shop-owner was giving him and moved to sit down at his favorite corner instead.

When the drink arrived in front of Aomine, he spent a good whole ten minutes studying it. And then taking a deep breath and nodding to himself, as if he was ready to jump off a cliff, Aomine took a sip. And then he made a face and a sound that was rather rude in front of the shop-owner and eyed the drink in front of him with a frown. "And he actually likes this stuff?"

After what seemed like an agonizing century, but was really just twenty minutes, Aomine managed to finish the small vanilla milkshake. At least it was free.

"Thanks for the drink," Aomine set the empty mug down on the counter table, ready to take his leave.

"It's not the first time we've done this offer," the shop-owner spoke up from behind the counter, picking up the empty mug and setting it down by the sink. "Why the sudden change in preference? You knew you wouldn't like it." The old man's tone was casual, but it made Aomine rather uncomfortable.

"Who knows?" Aomine shrugged, heading out the door, "maybe I'm just feeling sentimental."

The shop-owner was smiling. "Perhaps you should sit for a while longer."

"Nah," Aomine waved dismissively over his shoulder was the door swung shut behind him. If he stayed any longer, Momoi would be stuck outside the door and she would chew him out when he got back.

But maybe he should've stayed, not long enough that Momoi would get to his home first, but perhaps another ten or fifteen minutes.

Too bad he didn't.

It wasn't until Aomine was two blocks down did the chimes on the door ring out again.

"Tenchou, the usual please."

"Ah, of course, Tetsuya, take a seat wherever you like."

"I'll take the seat at the corner by the window as usual."

"Of course."

xxx

Aomine was alerted to Momoi Satsuki's presence by a yelp at the doorway and an exasperated sigh when she reached the living room. Aomine paid her no mind and continued to lounge on his sofa, flipping through the channels on the television aimlessly.

"Dai-chan, do you ever tidy up?"

"Maybe," was his casual reply as he turned off the tv once and for all. He glanced at the large bags that Momoi was currently heaving onto his kitchen counter. "Satsuki, you're not going to cook, are you?"

"I am, is there a problem?" Momoi gave Aomine a look, "I bought eggs, miso, tomatoes, chicken, bananas, oats, coconut water and kiwis. Don't worry, you're headache will be gone in no time!"

"Huh? What headache?"

"Ki-chan said you'd be having a headache, nausea and probably puking all over the place," Momoi replied, "What did you even drink to get such a heavy hangover, Dai-chan?"

"I don't know what Kise told you, but I'm not hungover," Aomine frowned. "I'll feel fine as long as you don't cook, Satsuki."

"Hey, that's rude!" Momoi argued, putting her hands on her hips, "I come over here because I'm so nice to you, to make you all these food because some idiot went ahead and drank alcohol thinking it's fruit punch and got drunk!"

"The hell, Satsuki? What kind of idiot would do that?"

"Wow the alcohol is affecting you even more that I thought it would be," Momoi leaned back and raised an eyebrow at Aomine.

"I wasn't-I _knew_ it wasn't fruit punch, damn it!"

To say Aomine's sudden outburst surprised Momoi was an understatement. It shocked even himself how worked up he himself was, as he thought back to the events of the night before. Getting summoned all the way to Kyoto at the very last moment for some spur of the moment party that Akashi was throwing, only to find out that all that asshole wanted was to taunt Aomine about the one topic that Aomine didn't ever want to talk about.

"Dai-chan? What happened at Akashi-kun's place after I left?" Momoi asked, "Ki-chan didn't know much and I asked Midorin and Mukkun too but they didn't know much either. Ai-kyun* left early as well and Mori-pyon* didn't even go so I couldn't ask them either."

_"That's pathetic Daiki. It's been two years, you can't still be holding onto that. Of course I know about him, he is, after all one of the Colored-names, and as an Akashi, I have the responsibility to keep track of that. That said, I have no intention to tell you anything at all. Ah, the irony of reality."_

Aomine was silent for a moment before he threw his hands up in the air, stretching and yawning exaggeratedly. "Nothing, nothing at all." He then moved back to his spot on the couch and lay down, picking up a random stray magazine from his stack and stuffing it in his face.

_"Fuck you, Akashi."_

_"I still won't tell you, Daiki. Your mother asked for Kuroko Tetsuya to stay out of your life, and as it is, I honor her request over yours. It does make me question, however, as to why you're so stubborn about Kuroko Tetsuya. Could it be, Daiki, that you are in love with him?"_

Aomine tried his best to wipe the smug and condescending Akashi smirk from his mind.

_"Aominecchi…you're not gay, are you?"_

Aomine tried not to scowl, focusing instead on the models in the magazine he was reading. Hot gravure idols with very well endowed breasts.

_"Aomine-kun, it's hardly appropriate to read materials like that in school."_

Boobs. Yes. He liked boobs, he liked pretty woman with big boobs.

_"Aomine-kun, please refrain from reading that in front of me."_

Exactly, boobs. Not dicks.

_"Aomine-kun…"_

Aomine stared at his dark, tanned skin.

_"…we should stop being friends."_

Aomine threw the magazine across the room.

Momoi peered over the kitchen counter worriedly at the blunet in the living room.

xxx

Aomine was rather at loss at the current situation. He was sitting at the Maji Burger chain near his place, face to face with the annoying brat, Kise Ryouta. Except Kise wasn't being annoying today and instead, was so quiet that it was eerily out of character for him.

"Oi, Kise? You okay?"

"Huh?" Kise looked up from his untouched hamburger and the potato fry that he had been picking at for the past five minutes. "Aominecchi, uh, yeah, I'm fine. Work is just…tiring."

"Right," Aomine muttered, crunching up the empty wrapper of his third burger. "When will you be in Tokyo until?"

"Next Monday, probably, they want to do the final shoot at the fireworks festival on Sunday, so I'll be leaving the morning after," Kise said, his attention already straying from their nonexistent conversation.

And then they lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence, uncomfortable for Aomine at the very least. The silence lasted till Aomine finished the last drop of his drink and set down the empty cup on the table. Kise's attention snapped to the empty cup and looked up at Aomine.

"Aominecchi, you sure eat fast."

"And you're hardly eating at all," Aomine drawled, "so what is it? Did you call me out here just so you can sit there and watch me eat?"

Kise smiled humorlessly before sitting straight and letting a false grin spread across his face, "Well what can I do? Midorimacchi refused to pick up his phone and I have no more friends in Tokyo! Besides you got a free dinner too, Aominecchi, so you can't complain!"

"I'm complaining." Though compared to the food that Momoi had made him the day before for dinner, this was a huge improvement.

"Maa, Aominecchi, don't be like that," Kise laughed.

"So? Do you have something to say? If not I'm going home." Aomine shrugged as he picked up his empty plastic tray and proceeded to stand up from his seat.

"No, wait, wait, Aominecchi, I…uh…"

"Well first things first, if this is a confession, I'm not interested."

"…?" Kise blinked at Aomine, confused. And then he burst out laughing. "I'm not going to confess to you, Aominecchi. I just…"

And then Kise's phone began to ring. "Hang on a moment…Hello? Yes, yes, it's me. Ah, Kur-"

Aomine rolled his eyes as he moved away to place his plastic tray but the tray collector, effectively moving away from the hearing distance of the rest of Kise's phone call, not that Aomine was interested anyways.

Maybe he should've been.

Kise had put his phone away by the time Aomine was back.

"Sorry, it was from work. Alright, not exactly. But it was from someone I met from work, I guess?" Kise started explaining despite without being prompted to, "he's really weird, alright not weird, but different, I guess. But he's really good with a camera, though he's only an assistant this time but-"

Aomine's thoughts floated towards a boy that he knew, once upon a time, who was great with a camera too. Aomine shook his head to clear his mind of the unwanted images.

"…and we ate dinner together yesterday, though Nijimura-senpai sorta forced him into it. But that's not the point, y'know. Anyways, we promised to meet up tomorrow morning to head to the studio together; well more like I insisted and he reluctantly agreed. I was so scared that he was mad at me after that, but he's not. So, Aominecchi, will you let me stay over? The meeting spot is much closer to your place."

All it took was one phone call, and Kise's mood completely changed a hundred and eighty. Aomine kind of regretted not paying attention earlier. Aomine raised an eyebrow at Kise's expecting face. Oh wait, what was he asking about again?

"Just till tomorrow morning, yeah? Sure, whatever," Aomine shrugged. "As long as you make breakfast and lunch before you go, so I don't have to eat Satsuki's cooking again."

Kise's eyes positively gleamed at Aomine's reply. "Thanks, Aominecchi! And Momoicchi's food can't be that bad."

"I've got leftovers back home, feel free to try them."

"Oh, no, that's alright, I'll pass." Kise laughed sheepishly.

"So do you have to go and pick up your clothes or something?"

The two stood up to leave the fast food chain.

"Oh, nah, I've got my stuff already," Kise pointed to the duffle bag that was heaved over his shoulder, "I knew Aominecchi you would say yes."

"Kise, you…" Aomine twitched slightly, "You're sleeping on the couch."

"Eh? Eh? Aominecchi? But what about your guest room?"

"The lock's broken."

"But it was working just last time? Aominecchi? Wait up!"

* * *

><p>*Ai-kyun &amp; Mori-pyon: Two chapters ago, I introduced two OCs that are part of the 'Miracles' to fill up the rainbow, Aiba Haruka (Indigo) and Daidaimori Senri (Orange). Yeah, Momoi has nicknames for those two too.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

A shorter chapter this time, but there isn't much to write with Aomine just quite yet.

Next chapter will be back to Kuroko, if all goes well. I suck at writing in advance so I'm just typing and posting as I go, so anything and everything is up for changes.

Once again, thanks for all your support!

Cheers.


	5. 04: Black

**04.**

* * *

><p>Kuroko always thought he was used to being alone but time and time again, he was proven wrong; first by a stubborn Blue, now by a happy-go-lucky Yellow.<p>

"Kurokocchi! Kurokocchi! Next time you should take pictures of me."

Work was done for the day, but Kuroko still had to tidy up the equipment before he could go home unlike the model who just had to change out of his clothes and was now pestering him.

"Kise-kun, I've told you before, I don't focus on the living photography," Kuroko replied, packing away the tripod on set. Kuroko didn't like to photograph the living. Occasionally they would be the one tree or few flowers that managed to sneak into his photos, but he didn't photographed them on purpose.

"But that leaves nothing left!" Kise threw his arms up, knocking over the light stand and hastily stabled it before it fell to the floor.

"That's not true, there's the sky, buildings, backdrops, food, objects…" Kuroko listed matter-of-factly, "it's the tiny things in life that everyone takes for granted."

Kise furrowed his eyebrows together as he tried to wrap his mind around Kuroko's words. "That's true too, but…Kurokocchi, don't you find it boring? The things you take pictures of will never change."

"They do. The clouds will change shapes and forms, and the sun will shine against the windows at a different angle…" Kuroko stood up again, after packing away the final equipment. He looked at Kise, "though it's not so much that I like photographing non-living things than I don't like to photograph living things." Living things were just too fragile, especially when it came to someone like Kuroko.

"Kurokocchi, are you done? Let's go eat dinner together."

Kuroko looked up at the enthusiastic Yellow. For the past three days that Kuroko had worked with Kise, he had had about four out of six meals with Kise, breakfast excluded. One of those meals, Kuroko was forced into by Nijimura, two of them Kise had invited himself to join Kuroko and the last one Kuroko did agree to - after two hours of nonstop persuading (read: whining) from Kise. "I'll pass, I've prepared for my dinner already."

"Prepared? Do you have plans? Are you eating with someone - is it a date?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No, I am not as popular as Kise-kun. I merely meant what I said, that I have already prepared my dinner for tonight, at home; alone."

"But that's so lonely!" Kise frowned, "don't you have friends to eat with?"

Kuroko looked away from Kise, turning his gaze to the nearly empty studio. It wasn't Kise's fault. It wasn't Kise's fault.

"Kurokocchi?" Kuroko turned to see the Yellow giving him a worried glance. "Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No," Kuroko replied, "perhaps it is lonely, but I'm used to it. I don't have many friends." Or so Kuroko had kept telling himself all this time.

"That's just because of what you're wearing, Kurokocchi!" Kise shrugged, "I mean, people won't be so mean to you if you stop wearing only black clothing. And you should drop the hood too! The hoodie just makes you seem intimidating and dangerous! Why do you wear clothes like that anyways?" ok

Kuroko smiled humorlessly at Kise's words. "Well, if I don't, no one would take me for a Black, would they? No matter how much I insisted I was. Like you, Kise-kun."

On the day Kuroko and Kise were officially introduced to each other, it took Kuroko and Nijimura half the night to actually convince Kise that Kuroko was a Black and not a Blue despite the biggest give away being Kuroko's name. No matter how much Kuroko and Nijimura tried to convince Kise that Kuroko was a Black, Kise refused to believe, pointing to Kuroko's hair and eyes that were a pale blue. It wasn't until saw with his own eyes as the flower withered and turned into smoke under Kuroko's touch did he believe that Kuroko was a Black.

"But that…I…" Kise was at loss for words. "That's beside the point, Kurokocchi. Dressing as you do would just drive people away, and I know you don't want that."

There was something painful about the way Kuroko looked at Kise.

"But if they can't accept me for who I am, they I don't want to be friends with them." Kuroko's tone was casual and plain, but Kise didn't seem completely convinced. In any case, Kise was silent as Kuroko went and bid farewell to the other members of the crew, some awkwardly greeting him back but most of them just ignoring him altogether. Kuroko took it all in stride and smiled politely regardless.

After bidding all the crew members farewell and retrieving his bag from the lockers, Kuroko returned to where Kise was standing by the studio doors.

"And goodbye to you too, Kise-kun," Kuroko bowed slightly in Kise's direction. "I hope you have a successful shoot."

"Huh? Wait, wait," Kise called after Kuroko, who had turned to walk away. "Won't you be here tomorrow as well? And on Monday too?"

Kuroko turned back to look at Kise with a confused look. "Did Nijimura-senpai not tell you? No, I won't be here tomorrow or on Monday. The original assistant photographer would be back tomorrow so today was my last day."

"And you're just going to leave?"

"Of course, Kise-kun, there is no reason for me to continue to stay," Kuroko said simply, cocking his head to the side as he stared at Kise. The Yellow was fidgeting slightly and was staring at Kuroko with an degree of intensity in his eyes that puzzled the Black. "Kise-kun?"

"Let me walk you home today," Kise said finally.

Kuroko was silent. A part of Kuroko knew he should refuse Kise's offer. He had to stop giving Kise the wrong signals before it was too late. They weren't supposed to be friends. It was dangerous, to himself and to Kise.

"Kise-kun, I…" Kuroko began, about to reject Kise's offer when his head throbbed painfully. He moaned softly as he raised his fingers to rub against his temples.

"Kurokocchi? Kurokocchi? Are you okay?"

Kise's voice seemed far away, the throbbing in his head worsening by the minute.

"Kurokocchi, you look really pale…literally. Kurokocchi?"

Kise's voice sounded closer. Kuroko winced slightly as he looked up to see Kise's face mere centimeters away from his and a hand reaching out…

"No! Don't touch me!" the blunet shrieked immediately, backing away from Kise. He whimpered softly.

"Kise? Kuroko? What's going on?"

"Nijimura-senpai! Kurokocchi, he…sudden…don't…"

"…hairr…no…"

"…hospit-…"

"…Ki-…-an't…n-"

It was all a jumble of words. Kuroko felt his vision blurring. There was a constant ringing in his ears and a hammer pounded against his head restlessly.

"…roko…Kuro…ko…Kuroko! Can you hear me?"

"Ngh…sen…pai?" Kuroko tried to raise his head to meet the eyes of Nijimura, but then the nausea hit him the moment he tried to move.

And then everything went black.

xxx

When Kuroko woke up, he was lying on the couch in the studio dressing room. Kise and Nijimura were sitting on the other side, talking between themselves about something that Kuroko couldn't make out. He shifted against the faux leather, moaning slightly as the headache returned albeit less painful. The two people on the other side of the room didn't seem to notice him. Perhaps he should call out to them?

Just as Kuroko was about to say something, there was a ring from the clock hanging from the wall, signalling that it was eight in the evening. Was it already that late?

"Kuroko! You were awake? I didn't notice, then again we never- anyways, I uh.."

Kuroko turned his attention back to his former upperclassman. "I only just woke up…"

"How are you feeling? Do you still have a headache?"

Nijimura was already by couch, holding out a glass of water in his hand which Kuroko didn't feel like drinking at all.

"It's…subsiding." Kuroko took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on something else other than the pounding in his head. "Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted," Nijimura said bluntly, a worried frown creasing his eyebrows, "Kuroko, have you been having these episodes lately? Headaches? Nausea? Blurred senses? Loss of consciousness?"

Kuroko shook his head in reply. "This is the first time."

"That's good," Nijimura seemed only slightly relieved, "though that was rather serious for a first time…" He handed the glass of water to Kuroko, who accepted it but didn't drink, and stood up. "I've never heard of the first episode ever being so…extreme. Perhaps it's because your Black is purer than anyone elses…but…"

"Nijimura-senpai…what happened? You do know, don't you?" Kuroko asked, looking up from the glass of water in his hands at the black haired male who was pacing around the room.

Nijimura paused in his steps and turned to look at Kuroko. Eventually, he sighed. "I do."

"What happened - what is happening?" Kuroko prompted.

Nijimura sighed again, combing a hand through his hair. "It's your color, Kuroko. It's fading, in fact, its faded already. It was so gradual, no one noticed, I'm sorry."

Kuroko sat up straight immediately. He looked beyond Nijimura and the wordless Kise at the row of mirrors on the other end of the dressing room where he was reflected in. His clothes were still black - a black loose jacket that was thrown over a slightly faded t-shirt. His black pants, however, weren't visible in his reflection. His skin was still pale against his clothes, and even more so considering the tiny bit of color that was retained in his eyes and his hair, was also gone now.

_"See, Tetsu, now you're Blue too."_

No, no he was not. The cerulean in his eyes had faded over the two years, now they were just empty orbs, like glass. The powder blue in his hair had left, leaving a messy of nothing. His hair was there, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was peculiar, like a bit of mist that covered where his hair was supposed to be. If he reached up, he could still feel the strands, but it was just a mess of nothing in his reflection - like glass.

Kuroko resisted the urge to laugh at his reflection. How pathetic.

"Normally, it shouldn't affect you like that, Kuroko," Nijimura's words interrupted Kuroko's thoughts and he turned his attention back to his former upperclassman. "Reverting back to colorless shouldn't do anything…normally at least. I would know." Nijimura grimaced. "The problem is, you're a Black, Kuroko. To begin with, the rate in which your color faded was unnaturally fast. That amount of Blue…of course it would fade, but not within two years. Maybe four, or six years even. Your…predisposition acted as a catalyst."

"Predisposition?"

"Black devours things, converts it into darkness, leaving nothing behind," Nijimura said, "but it's not the color that's at fault. Not completely, I suppose. True enough that it is the reason, but its not the cause - it's not the the actual color that consumes everything, it's the host that consumes it unconsciously, in order to maintain the Black in their body. That's why things don't turn into darkness when I touch it.

"Even if your Color is gone, the predisposition still remains in you. That's why you still can't touch anything organic without destroying it, that's why objects still turn Black under your touch if you're not careful enough. And that is why your color faded so quickly.

"Your body was consuming the Blue as a form of rejecting it, because you're not meant to be Blue. You're a Black, and your body continues to do everything to maintain itself as a Black. It was consuming the Blue in you…until it's gone, and now it's consuming the only other thing it can: you.

"Normally, it's not…there shouldn't be such a big reaction - not during the first episode at least. You're not the first Black to have been...turned...into a Colorless but your Black, it's so pure, so strong, I've never seen anything like it. That's the only explanation I have at the moment, I have to talk to the old man Shirogane for more information but…that's the gist of it."

"Will…the headaches…last?" Kuroko asked slowly, as he processed the information that Nijimura just bombarded him with. "Will they worsen?"

"I don't know. But you will have these episodes again, that's for sure, unless you do something about it," Nijimura said, "I can't tell you how frequent or how serious they will be, I've only heard this in passing from Shirogane that one time. I'm surprised I even remember it."

"Do something about it, what can I do about it?"

"I'd recommend you to go to the hospital, but they can't really do anything about this other anyway - not that they would do anything to begin with. I'd say you should first get some color back into your body, that should at least give you some time to figure out what to do. You can't stay a colorless anymore, Kuroko. You'll have to find away to become a Black again…but before you can do that, you'll have to find someone willing to give you their color…and it won't be easy, because you'll still taint them when you touch them."

"I'll do it." It was the first time Kise had said anything since Kuroko had woken up. "It'll help Kurokocchi, right? I'll do it."

"No," there was no hesitation in Kuroko's refusal. "I've only just known you, Kise-kun. Besides you're a model, and you're part of the Generation of Miracles! I've already…I can't do this to you too, Kise-kun."

"...too? Kurokocchi what do you-"

"Perhaps..." Nijimura interrupted Kise and looked at Kuroko with a serious gaze, "it's time you…talked to your parents."

Kuroko's reaction was immediate. His normally soft gaze narrowed into a glare and his lip were pressed tight together. "No." The last thing Kuroko wanted to do was to talk to his parents about it because it would prove that they were right - something that Kuroko would never admit.

"But you'll have to do something about this Kuroko," Nijimura pressed, "the easiest way would be to borrow, so to say, the color of one of your family. They're already Black, they can't be tainted anymore so that would be problem solved. Who else can you go to, Kuroko?"

Kuroko didn't reply, merely looked away.

"I'd share the color I have with you, Kuroko, if only it worked," Nijimura's tone softened slightly, "but we both know it wouldn't so your parents would be the best choice…unless you want to go and look for…_him_."

Kuroko's head snapped up to look at Nijimura but he didn't say anything.

"Him? Who's…this him?" Kise piped up, "can he help Kurokocchi?"

Nijimura's gaze turned from the silent Kuroko to Kise, who was looking between Nijimura and Kuroko with a confused gaze. "...yes, he will be able to help Kuroko…there's no reason why he can't, since it's not like Kuroko's color would affect him anymore…"

Kuroko tensed from Nijimura's words.

"Then let's go find him! We can't just leave Kurokocchi like this!" Both Nijimura and Kuroko were quiet in response to Kise's outburst. "What are we still waiting for?"

"Kise, it's a little…complicated," Nijimura finally said, "Kuroko isn't…exactly allowed to find this person."

"Why?" Kise frowned, "Why not?"

"Because…" Nijimura seemed hesitant, shooting glances at Kuroko who wasn't returning them.

"Because I've tainted him," Kuroko replied, "I don't deserve to see him anymore."

"Kuroko! You know that's not true," Nijimura was quick to argue, "it's not your fault as it is his…it was…an accident."

"No it wasn't." Kuroko muttered under his breath, too quiet for either of the other two males to hear.

"Who-what exactly…did this…person do?" Kise asked, completely at loss.

Nijimura gave Kuroko one last look before sighing, "_he_…is the reason why Kuroko is…well, why Kuroko is the way he is now."

xxx

"Thank you for walking me home, Kise-kun, even though it wasn't necessary," Kuroko said as they stopped in front of the apartment building. Kise had been quiet the entire walk, in fact, Kise had been unusually quiet ever since the awkward talk between the three of them. "Well then, I shall…excuse myself now."

"Wait, Kurokocchi," Kise called just as Kuroko turned around to leave. "are you really going to go find him - the guy Nijimura-senpai was talking about?"

Kuroko's eyes darkened slightly at Kise's question. "I…don't know yet."

"Don't."

"Kise-kun?"

"Don't go find him, please. How could you still go after what he's done to you! You shouldn't go!"

Kuroko tensed at Kise's words. How long had it been since he had such commanding words directed to him? For a moment, the two almost overlapped in Kuroko's mind. But then Kise wasn't looking at him with a cocky smirk, Kise was looking at him with concern in his eyes and worry knotting his eyebrows.

"Unfortunately, Kise-kun, that isn't something for you to decide," Kuroko replied. His tone was polite but somehow it came out unnecessarily cold and distant.

Kise seemed to be slightly taken back, his eyes widening softly. Then he chuckled softly, slightly forced before he ended up laughing, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, you're right, Kurokocchi. Sorry, I just-"

"But, thank you. Thank you for worrying about me even if you didn't have to."

"That's not true! Of course I had to! Because-" Kise paused in the middle of his sentence, contemplating his choice of words, "because…well, because we're friends right, Kurokocchi?"

"Friends…" The word rolled off Kuroko's tongue with a bitter taste. They weren't supposed to be friends - they shouldn't be friends, especially not after what just happened earlier that evening. That was what Kuroko wanted to tell Kise, but the words were stuck in his throat as soon as he caught gaze of those bright golden eyes that were looking at him expectantly. There was something about Kise that Kuroko just couldn't turn down. "I suppose…we could be."

Kuroko felt a small smile tug on his lips too, as he watched the wide grin spread across Kise's face.

Perhaps it was worth a try.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

There is absolutely no excuse for how long it took me to get this chapter out. I mean I have excuses, naturally, but I don't really think it justifies the wait. Between revisions and finals (early~mid Dec) and the surprise trip to Japan after that, I didn't have much time to write during December - not that that had ever stopped me before. Not to mention no matter how many times I rewrote the chapter (five and counting) I just didn't like it. I'm still not satisfied with how it turned out but I just couldn't place exactly what was the problem so I decided I've stalled long enough and it was time to post it.

Maybe I'll come back to the chapter again later and by then, hopefully, I'll be able to pinpoint exactly what I'm not happy with about it.


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